Saturday, December 11, 2010

The seed for this idea was sown during a conversation I had with three very creative people – Prashant, Shalini and Embellisher during my first visit to Shalini's classy Plantation House in February this year. While looking through my old blog, Prashant expressed great enthusiasm about my charcoal drawings as did the others. The four of us talked about this and the conversation went along the lines of, ‘your charcoal drawings are excellent, if you had a body of these perhaps we could eventually show it here at Plantation House?’ Needless to say that during the entire conversation, the dreaded ‘Why don’t you have an exhibition question’ never ever came up.

Well...after that a body of work didn’t exactly materialize out of thin air (though perhaps I wouldn't have minded if it had). Instead I worked at dozens and dozens of charcoal drawings for nearly an entire year, which is the reason you see so many black and white drawings on my blog. I drew large drawings, small drawings, racked my brains on what to draw and which technique to use, tried this kind of charcoal and that kind of pastel, and all kinds of compositions, but most of all I experimented a lot, mucked around a great deal (cursed and swore) and just had a hell of a lot of fun doing these drawings. And to cut a long story short, nearly a year later, out of many, many drawings I chose ten for framing.

Meanwhile the hugely talented Prabha Mallya of Pencil Sauce looked at my ten chosen ‘dark and creepsome’ ( I love this description) works and whipped up the top hand written invitation for me ‘ Phat!’ Like that! Funky lettering and all! I took one look and it was love at first sight.

Then since the also hugely talented Shalini liked my picture of the crow, she took Crow and Prabha’s funky lettering and combined them both to create the invitation for me below. Gosh! That was love at first sight too!

So here you are Blog readers – TWO invitations to my exhibition! If you are in Bengaluru during 16th to 19th December and would like to meet the grouchy frizzy haired Plum Tree blogger in person, please come by and say hello. It would be such fun to meet you. I promise I am friendly in person. Gwen the Hen will be there, as will a Refugee and my Crow. Such exciting company!
So come on over!

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

To those well wishers who persist in doling out this suggestion to me, I would like to thank you but I would also like to clarify that my job as an artist is to draw and paint. If an exhibition happens it is incidental - a by product of my generated work, [like the joy of getting this teensy image of my work on a CNN site ]. I don’t exist as an artist to exhibit my work. I exist to draw. I would also like you who give me this suggestion to consider this:

Would you ask a doctor (any doctor), “Why don’t you perform a brain surgery?”

Would you ask a lawyer, “Why don’t you do a cross examination?”

Would you ask a software engineer, “Why don’t you go work in Infosys?”

You wouldn't would you? These questions would show up the fact that you know nothing about the profession that you are advising the professional about with your well meaning suggestion. Well, it is the same when you suggest to an artist.

Somehow when it comes to artists, everyone knows exactly what it means to be a painter. Anyone can do it. And anyone can offer advice on how to be one. Just whip up a dozen paintings and have an exhibition! Once a month if possible! Of course you know somebody who does that and you too would do it if you just had the time to do more of those pencil shadings and watercolours that you used to be so good at in Art class.

Recently a neighbour dropped by and noticed some of my paintings hanging on my wall.

Who did this?

I did

You? But this is professional! I thought you painted as a recreation. Did you copy it from a magazine or book or something?

No.

Did you photocopy and trace it from a greeting card?

No

You did it entirely yourself?

Yes.

My! Why don’t you have an exhibition?

Ah hah! I knew you'd say that !

I don’t understand the connection between appreciating my work (albeit with those strange questions about them) and ‘having an exhibition’. If you like some paintings it seems logical to ask if one could see more of them or perhaps inquire where they are sold. But to almost immediately ‘mentor’ me and tell me how I should run my professional life...

-----------------------

And of course if I did have an exhibition, the immediate and predictable question asked would be,